Method of shaping paper.



A. H. DREUX.

METHOD OF SHAPING PAPER.

APPLICATION FILED mm. 1916.

L2 1 Patented Apr. 917.

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APPLICATION FILED JAN-8,1916- Patented Apr. 10,

ZSHEETS-SHEE J a I ALEXANDER H. DREUFX, OE BUFFALO, NEW YORK, .ASSIGNOR T0 F N. BURT COMPANY,

LIMITED, 01? BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF ONTARIO, CANADA.

METHOD OF SHAPING PAPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 10, 191?.

Application filed January 8, 1916, SerialNo. 70,932..

To ail'wliomc't may'conccm:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER H. DREUX, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have. invented certain new and useful Improvements. in Methods of Shaping-"Paper, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This, invention relates to methods and apparatus. for shapmg fibrous material, and more particularly to a method and an apparatus for imparting a convex curvature to fibrous articles, such as the. heads. of paper boxes or other devices of a similar character.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus by the employment of which paper blanks may be given a. convex form, and at the same time preserve a smooth. and unwrinkledfinish of the curved or domedface, such wrinkles marring the appearance of the finished article and thereby increasing waste consequent to inefficient manufacture.

Another object is to. provide apparatus simple in construction and operation and so designed as to hold a box cover securely at its outer portions while the inner portions thereof are being formed into. desired shape.

Other objects will be in. part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in: the several steps and the relation and order of one or more of such steps with relation to each of the others thereof, and in the features of construction, combinations of elements. and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified: in themethod hereinafter disclosed and the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of each of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and wherein simi lar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several 'views,

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a machine embodying one form of the invention."

Fig. 2 is a; sectional view of the portion of the apparatus to which this lnventlon particularly relates Fig. 3 is across sectional view takenalong the line 3.-3l of Fig. 2;

F 4 is a sectional view of a modified form of apparatus;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the. box before being domed, and partly in section, and exaggerated as to thickness of the binder and the label 5 and Fig. 6- is a side view of the domed box.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views thereof, 2 represents a standard of any desired form serving as a support for the parts embodying the invention and the mechanism for applying power to operate the same, which in the present case is shown as a toggle 3 actuated by a, link i on the end of which is one member of an eccentric 5, the other member of which is fixed to a shaft 6 carrying a pulley 7 and a. flywheel 8. The operating, mechanism is controlled by a pedal 9 in any well-known manner. a

Mounted in guides upon the standard 2 is a lower die member 10, to which the upper arm of the toggle 3 is pivotally connected. The upper surface of this member is concaved to correspond, to the degree of curvature which it is desired to impart to the blank, inthe present instance a box head. Cooperating with the concave die member 10 is a convex die member 11 having a curvature to properly cooperate with the member 10, and attached in any convenient manner, as by screw threads, to a column 12, which column may be considered a part of the die 11 and which is adjustably held by a clamp 13on the face of the standard, as shown. The column-n12 is providedwith means for heating it and the die member 11, such means in the present instance being shown as a gas burner 14 in the form of a ring about the column 12', the latter being pro- 17'. By an inspection of Fig. 2 it willbe seen of this laminated blank between the dies tends to cause wrinkles in the label of the finished article. It is found that by holding or gripping the head at itsouter portion while the inner portion of the head is being pressed into shape, the wrinkling of the label is avoided, and a convex smooth labeled surface is produced. In the present embodi; ment of the invention the outer portion of the head or blank 16 is held between a pair of gripping surfaces, which surfaces have relative approaching and receding move ments so as to grip the blank near its periphery and move into and out of gripping position. Preferably these surfaces are provided by the edge 18 of a cylindrical sleeve 19 surrounding the stationary die 11 and movable axially thereof toward and from the die 10, the gripping surface 18 cooperating with the movable die 10 or a part thereof to securely hold the outer portion of the blank during the doming operation. The time at which the gripping mechanism takes hold of theblank may be at the instant Y the blank begins to bend under the influence of thedies,but preferably the gripping surface 18 is set slightly outside of the plane of the die 11, so that the gripper grips the blank before any substantial bending has been effected by the die 11. Preferably the edge 18 is convexed so as to be substantially parallel to the doming surface of the lower die. In order that the gripper 18 may assume the stated position outside the plane of the die 11 at the beginning ofthe operation of doming, it is urged axially of the die, preferably by a spring21 pressing against 7 the sleeve 19 atone end and against a collar 20 threaded on the column 12 and adapted to be secured in adjusted position by a set screw 21, the adjustment of said collar being adapted to regulate the tension of the spring 21. A pin 22 on the stationary die or column 12'engages a slot-23 in the sleeve 19 to limit the outward axial movement of the sleeve 19.

As thedie 10 moves upwardly under the influence of the toggle, and the blank or head 16 is gripped between the surface 18 and the lower die, the spring 21 yieldingly resists upwardmovement to such degree as to securely hold the outer portion of the blank, notwithstanding upward movement of the gripper relatqi ve to die 11. The blank being so held, relative movement of the dies toward each other to the limit provided for effects the doming of the inner portion of the blank.

The final pressure in the presence of heat provided by the hot fixed die 11 sets the blank in domed condition.

Fig. 2 shows the dies in relative position at the beginning of an operation. A box provided with an ornamental label on its head may be domed by this apparatus without materially changing the flange dimensions; that is, for instance, the diametrical distance between opposite sides of the flange in a circular box, and with substantially no liability of separating the flange from the head. Usually the flange is connected to the head by a thin binding strip of paper, as 17, and it does not require much force to separate the flange and head. In the present 'device the box is placed on the sleeve 19 as illustrated in Fig. 2, and the apparatus is provided with means opposite the outer edge of the flange to hold or retain the flange to the head during the doming operation. In the present instance this means is exemplified in a stop or shoulder 24:, the lower face of which cooperates with the flange while its upper face forms a seat for the spring 21.

Fig. 4 shows a portion of a slightly modified construction wherein the flange of the box is inserted within the sleeve 25, which latter corresponds to the sleeve 19 of Fig. 2. In this form a shoulder 26 is provided on the interior of the sleeve to serve as a stop to retain the flange on the head.

When curving a fibrous blank into cylindrical form, the fibers of the outer surface are slightly stretched, while the fibers of the inner surface are slightly compressed. These stresses, whether of tension or compression, take place along generally parallel lines transversely of the elements of the cylindrical surface, and the convex surface will be retained in smooth condition unless it breaks. Within limits there is not much tendency even to wrinkle the concave surface of such a cylindrical blank. But when it is sought to give a fibrous blank a generally rounded or. spherical surface, which may be denominated a dome, it will be observed that the stresses in the material occur in lines extending from the center toward the edge and also transversely of such lines. Consequently there is a greater tendency to wrinkle by reason of the relatively angular direction of the stresses, and it is therefore a much more diflicult operation to dome a blank and at the same time preserve a smooth surface. This is especially noticeable when the blank is a laminated one, as by reason of having a label applied thereto. These labels are frequently of a highly ornamental character having a satiny finish, and the slightest imperfection is readily seen and results in an imperfectly labeled box which usually has to be discarded as waste.

i in: present invention provides a method for efficiently doming laminated blanks, and the method consists primarily in securely holding a moist blank at its outer portion while doming, and consequently stretching, the inner portion, these operations taking place in the presence of heat designed to set the finished blank in a domed condition. Preferably the stretching, doming, pressing and heating are effected siimiltaneously, so that the method is a quick one for obtaining the desired result. The method also affords a means of doming a head of a box while it is attached to its flange and while the box is in a labeled commercial condition other than for its lack of a dome. Usually the doming is done immediately upon completion of the labeling of the box, so that the adhesive for securing the label renders the head sufficiently damp or moist to be eifec' tively domed.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above method, and in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of doming, comprising simultaneously stretching the inner portion of a moist paper blank while holding the outer portion of the blank, bending it into convex form and applying pressure to the opposite faces of its inner portion, and hot pressing the same.

2. The method of doming, comprising simultaneously stretching the inner portion of a laminated moist paper blank while holding the outer portion of the blank, bending it into convex form and sure to the opposite faces of its inner portion, and hot pressing the same.

3. The method of doming, comprising simultaneously stretching the moist flanged head of a paper box, bending the head into c'oncavo-convex form, and hot pressing the head, said stretching, bending, and hot pressing being performed while maintaining the flange dimension.

4. The method of doming, comprising simultaneously stretching the moist flanged head of a paper box while maintaining the flange dimension, bending the head. into concavo-convex form, hot pressing the head, and maintaining the flange in contact with said head.

5. The method of doming, comprising bending the moist laminated, flanged head of a paper box into concavo-convex form so as to stretch the head in lines extending transversely of the flange and transversely of said lines while maintaining the flange dimension, and hot pressing said head.

6. The method of doming, comprising stretching the moist laminated flanged head of a paper box, bending the head into concavoconvex form by applying pressure to the opposite faces of that portion of the blank to be domed, hot pressing the bent portion of the head, said binding, stretching, and hot pressing being simultaneously performed, and maintaining the flange dimension and restraining separation of the head and flange during said aforesaid operations.

7. The method of doming, comprising bending the moist inner portion of a laminated flanged head of a paper box into concavo-convex form so as to stretch the inner portion in lines extendin transversely of the flange and transverse y of said lines, holding the outer portion of said blank dur ing said bending, preventing separation of the flange from the head during said bending and holding, and hot pressing said head.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER H. DREUX.

Witnesses:

LYNDoN C. PALMER, H. BOETTGER.

applying pres- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

